What Causes You to Grumble?

 

 

The first time that grumblings of the complaining sort were mentioned in the Bible, it was in Exodus 15:24 where the people grumbled against Moses.  It started happening the minute that the people left Egypt; they became frightened and grumbled that he brought them out only to kill them; they complained about bitter water, they complained and challenged positions, and grumbled about food while they remembered fondly the leaks and other things that they were given. 

 

Grumble is the Hebrew word luwn, Strongs#3885, and it means to lodge, abide, and spend the night.   In that sense, it is the same word as one who tarries all night.  It brings me back to a memory of a neglected child who was left in their dirty diapers.  Over time, it became a place of comfort for them so when feeling stressed, they would poop their pants and sit in it.      

 

It is different from groaning under the pain of suffering. When the people of God lived in Egypt and were making bricks, they moaned and cried out to the Lord. He heard their cry. The people were not grumbling but in pain with no way out. It was an outcry of injustice that the Lord heard. He answered with awesome deeds of righteousness.

 

Grumbling and complaining were not out of this kind of pain specifically, while pain and suffering were involved at times, but because of a lack of trust in the Lord.  It was fear, want, being uncomfortable, and being stretched that caused them to grumble.  

 

Grumbling kept the Israelites out of their promised land. When ten of the spies returned with a bad report, the people shrunk back in fear and saw themselves as defeated before they even entered the battle. They refused to move forward and complained. 

 

Grumbling, I noted in my Bible, tells us we have an idol of some sort in our lives, a lack of trust and, or something we need to die to.  It never helps us achieve anything.  It merely points out where we need to invite God in to help us to grow.  Given free reign, it will cut short our purpose and transformation.   

 

As an example, the first year that I ran a leadership development program at my work for the successors of the senior leaders, I gave them a difficult assignment that was intended to make them uncomfortable and cause them to stretch.  

 

I gave them an overall assignment and deliverables that I expected, but I didn’t give them any framework or help in how to get there.   The reason for this is that, as senior leaders, they need to become comfortable creating the framework themselves.   Something most of them had little experience with at the time.  

 

It took them some months to create the framework needed so they could operate within it and get their objectives met.  During this time, they struggled with frustration in the forming, storming and norming phases.  But then once they landed in the performing stage and created incredible deliverables, I couldn’t have been more impressed with them.  They achieved a significant accomplishment from beginning to end.

 

That is to say that many went through the process with an open heart and mind, and because of this, they grew in the process. Some noted that the experience was pivotal in their leadership growth. Like a caterpillar that has to struggle to get out of its cocoon, they struggled and came out better. They became much more comfortable taking ambiguity and making it something ordered, structured, aligned, and purposeful.   

 

In the same way, as God works all things for our good, it does not mean that He works all things for our comfort and ease. It is the exact opposite. He puts us in difficulty that feels over our heads so that we grow. It is exactly the uncomfortability and ambiguity that is fertile ground for our growth.

 

As another example, when we found out that my husband was going blind and they told us that he would be totally blind in five years, I felt very uncertain and uncomfortable. I wondered how I would make it financially on just my income as well as with all the responsibilities falling to me.  But in the midst of it, God gave me an opportunity to trust rather than grumble about it. 

 

When my husband was still working and we found out about his eyes, the doctor suggested we try to get disability insurance coverage for him.  We didn’t have any.  But on the disability application form, there was a checkbox that you had to mark for a pre-existing condition.   As we checked this box, knowing it would result in the denial of coverage, and trusted God for it to all work out, it did.   He did exceedingly above what we could ask or imagine and all our debts, including our mortgage, was paid off in a year.  He also increased my salary to cover the loss of the second salary we had.

 

This leads me to this next story in the Bible on grumbling in Numbers with Korah’s rebellion.  They grumbled against Moses and Aaron about who should be in power. They questioned Aaron’s right to lead and ended up getting swallowed up by the earth.  Then, rather than learning from the experience, the rest of the Israelites blamed Moses and Aaron for killing them and grumbled some more about position and power.

 

Ultimately, this led to each family having a staff that they placed before the Lord.  And Aaron’s staff, God’s chosen priest, sprouted and budded, bearing fruit.  This finally seemed to settle the matter when they saw that Aaron’s rod was the one bearing fruit.

 

Like Korah’s rebellion, we will perish and be swallowed up for grumbling and want. But those who step forward in faith and trust will bear fruit in their places of purpose. They will flourish as God will faithfully make them stand out.

 

What in your life is budding?  You will sprout, bud, and bear fruit where you have a calling and purpose.  It will be evident to all who are around you.  God will make room you’re your gifts even when those around you try to crowd you out and take your purpose from you.

 

Here was Aaron's key to this place of fruitfulness: It was not about his position with people around him, but his position with God. The Lord had told Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the people.”

 

As Aaron put the Lord first and served faithfully, God made him fruitful.  Despite the grumbling that happened around him and people who jealously wanted to step into his position, God was the one to make room for Aaron.    At the end of the day, the only thing that could keep Aaron out of the fullness of his purpose, was his own grumbling and complaining. 

 

Aaron and Moses grumbled when the people complained about water, which prevented them from entering the Promised Land. Both were taken home before entering it because they grumbled, and Moses lost his temper and struck the rock twice, failing to reflect God’s love and care for the people.

 

The grumbling and jealousy of the Israelites happened because the people's hearts were set on wanting things other than God. The Book of Numbers in the Bible describes touching something and becoming unclean; this was, in essence, what the Israelites were doing—touching things with their hearts out of want and discontent and, as a result, making themselves unclean.  

 

What do you touch that makes you unclean?  Where are your wants getting in the way of all that God has for you?  We need only reach out to touch Jesus to become clean again.  He can take our wrongly ordered wants and bring us back to the heart of what is important—doing life with Him.

 

Lord Jesus, help us in our wrongly ordered wants to lay them at your feet.  Give us a fresh vision of Your love and care.  Help us to live out of our purpose in a way that bears fruit for You.